Phoenix sits in the Sonoran Desert, yet it's home to over 1.7 million people who use roughly 250 gallons of water per person daily. The city relies heavily on the Colorado River, which has dropped to historic lows, with Lake Mead sitting at just 35% capacity as of late 2024. Arizona's water situation became so dire that the state declared its first-ever water shortage in 2021, triggering automatic cuts to its Colorado River allocation.
The Central Arizona Project, which delivers Colorado River water to Phoenix, faces potential cuts of up to 50% by 2030 under current drought projections. Local groundwater pumping has already caused some areas of the Phoenix metropolitan area to sink by over 12 feet since the 1950s. Despite aggressive conservation efforts, including restrictions on new developments without assured water supplies, the math simply doesn't add up for long-term sustainability.
Phoenix: Desert Metropolis on Borrowed Time
版主： 牛河梁